I can tell you this:

Part of the reason we are glad to be selling our home this spring is because of my neighbor's barking dog. She's a lovely person, and she'll go out and hush the dog if I call, but then it'll start up the next night. I'd have to call her every night, and I'm just tired of it. I've called the city and they've contacted her, and she'll quiet the dog for a while, then it starts up again.

I'm a dog owner, and a dog lover, but I've grown to *hate* that dog, and resent my neighbor. We've been here 4 years, and the dog wakes me up *at least* 4 nights a week with it's methodical, 5-cadence bark.

"Arr arr arr arr.....arr" The same dadgummed bark, all the time.

I can assure of you this too, whatever house we look at, I will drive by at various times of the day to see how much barking there will be.

I'd check with your city to see what kinds of enforcement they have for this type of thing. I've gotten nowhere with my neighbor, and nowhere with my city.

Unfortunately barking dogs don't always show themselves when you're looking at potential properties. We bought a home that had no barking dog outside the two times we looked at it. After we moved in, barking all night. The owners only let the dog outside at night and it howled the night away. Very annoying. Check to see if there is a noise ordinance for barking dogs in your area. Like reno we had no response from the city about complaints and no response from the neighbors either, so we lived with the barking for two years until my husband was transfered. Good luck.

I too have been at the mercy of a barking dog, only it was night and day, constantly. I honestly could not believe that a dog would have the stamina to bark continuously as this dog did. It was UNBELIEVABLE. I finally got a white noise machine and it was WONDERFUL for getting sleep, but the dog was still slightly annoying during the day time. My neighbor finally got rid of the dog and got another one instead.

I'll never understand how neighbors can be so inconsiderate as to let their dogs bark incessantly. Sometimes people you would least expect allow this to happen. Unfortunately, there's often little help from local governments.

I've had so many bad experiences with noisy neighbors, that I'm gun-shy now as we look to buy a new home. If I see ANYTHING that might indicate noise like teenage boys, lowered cars, dogs, close proximity of neighbors, I back off. As you might expect, that narrows down choices considerably. ; ) As has been pointed out already, just because it's quiet when you first look or move in, that doesn't mean some bonehead won't move in next door afterwards. However, my thought is, if you start out with a quiet neighborhood, at least you have a better chance.

So, to answer your original question, no, I wouldnÂt buy that house, and in my opinion, you should consider yourself lucky that you were made aware of the nuisance before signing on the dotted line.

They do make a number of different bark controls for dogs.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bark Control Collar

We looked at two houses last summer that had barking dogs in the back yards. Nice places, but after reading the posts in this thread, I'm glad we passed on them.

I'd have to wonder if that's why the existing owners are moving. Sadly, I'd say to weigh the pros with the cons and see how it compares to other houses without barking dogs.

I live in a HOA dictatorship neigbhorhood and although they are not near me, I hear rediculous amounts of barking and loud howling coming from the other end of the subdivision. I love dogs, have two of my own that bark and I do apologize for that on occasion but it's only briefly when they are playing in the yard. They don't bark when neighbors go into their backyards or decks. And I would not tolerate incessant barking from neighbors who leave their dogs in the backyard all day.

LAst month I called the police for a house just outside the sub with a bunch of idiot rednecks who have their dog live inthe farthest extreme of their property and then went out of town and the dog was there in the darkness the whole time it barked and cried and whined and I couldn't take it any more. Everyday I look out at those slobs and hope the dog will some day escape from that horrible life and come to my yard.

Some dogs bark at strangers and won't bark once you get to know them. Not that you can tell beforehand! I just moved in next door to a dog who barked at first but now doesn't mind us and we haven't even been properly introduced.

Would it be too weird to go talk to the neighbor on the other side of the dog and ask how barky the dog is? A dog that barks at intruders in your backyard isn't a bad thing, as long as it knows who's who.

I'd be concerned about the welfare of the dog. Is there an animal care organization there you can call? Such as the humane society or the city/county animal control. Maybe they can talk to the homeowner and find out if the dog is being abused.

Maybe you should ask the neighbors around there to see if the dog barks all the time or at night.

Thanks for the advice! We'll probably visit the house again to see if the dog is still barking. And we might visit the neighbors, too, to see if it just barks at strangers or all the time. I would hate to buy the house and then have to live with the incessant noise--I'll never understand why some dog owners don't seem to take care of their animals!

I'm so glad I have a non-barking dog. He does bark - but only when REALLY riled up (maybe once a month?), and usually just one loud bark and he's satisfied with himself. Our dog so rarely barks that when he does bark we all kind of look at each other in surprise, like, "Wow, I forgot he could do that!"

For those that are curious, it's a Basset Fauve de Bretagne, and I got one specifically because they are considered to be a "non-barking" breed. And they're cute.

{{!gwi}}

BTW, those bark collars don't always work. And you can't have a dog tied up in any way with one of those one. There are many drawbacks. After trying every option, we had to adopt out one of our dogs because of his barking.
And you certainly can't control your neighbors' dogs.

We had that problem for a while in our old neighborhood. The "dog" was actually a puppy. They had him a few weeks. Anyway, he was going to grow to be a large dog so they tried to keep him outside. That puppy would wimper and sound like he was crying. I think he missed his litter. It was so sad. They let it continue. Within a month I guess they took him back and got another smaller dog. Then they preceded to let this dog poop in our yard and they did not clean it up!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then we had another neighbor down the street that would leave their dog out in the freezing weather. I mean the dog was outside in the backyard tied up all the time. I never saw anyone playing with him. I reported them. They did take him out of the backyard but at night when we would go on walks we could hear him barking in the garage.

If you seriously want it to stop, go see an attorney. Yes, it will cost and yes it will create friction between the two parties (which they have already created). You do not need a noise ordinance, HOA, or any munincipalities legal blessing to have your personal and property rights protected. And you can argue all day long that normal expectations of reasonable tranquility are not a right, but they are more of a right than what the dog's owner will have to stand on in court and that is all that matters. A civil judgement can become a lien, one with teeth. And if they are renters it goes against the landlord. You will prevail and be able to recapture expenses, guaranteed.

Number one reason for favorable judgements, devaluation of property. Easy to create and back-up by any attorney worth his salt. Makes for nice big fat liens.

Maybe the dog belongs to a renter that will be moving within a year or so. Can you find out if it is a rental home?

Also - is the dog barking at you are just barking to get into the home or from boredom? Maybe it is a good watchdog that is not used to you being at the home next door. If so, it is very likely that the dog will get used to you and will no longer bark later on.

Ohh this could be a money making opportunity to move into this house.

Just because there's no HOA doesn't mean that the county doesn't have rules about annoyance barking. We lived in a 'transitional' neighborhood for a while (see my other posts) where two dogs constantly barked because they were left outdoors with a self feeder for weeks at a time while the owner traveled.

A few calls to the sheriff, a few fines, and eventually animal control came and took the dogs. Talking to her directly was useless, I got "they're huskies, those are outdoor dogs" (idiot woman.)

FWIW, I'd buy a house with dogs barking next door, but I know how to fight the problem. Because any house you buy, the next week somebody can move in with barkers.

Make sure you CAN fight the problem in your area. Check online for the county regulations. Call the sheriff or local police and ask what their policies are about barking dogs, and call animal control and see what they do. If you like the answers, I'd give the house a try.

Oh this is a hot button for me. We have lived next to barking dogs and it is awful. I love dogs, but barking dogs make me crazy. We build a house two years ago and the neighborhood is beautiful and our house is the nicest house I will ever have...I love it. But the thing I like best of all about this neighborhood is that the covenants we had to sign said "no outide dogs". It seems like everyone in the subdivision has dogs....they walk them etc. but they aren't outside dogs and I never have to hear one bark. I absolutely LOVE it.

For the love of god. Try to solve the problem (That doesn't even fricking exist yet) like adults by talking, not running to mommy and crying.

Or you could run for the laywers.

A barking dog that doesn't shut up the whole time I'm viewing a house would be a deal-breaker for me. I hate barking dogs, and know I couldn't bear to live next to it.

Unfortunately...I already live next to such an animal. And there was no sign of it when I was looking at the house before buying.

"BTW, those bark collars don't always work. "
When that electric shock hits those dog owners necks, it's not something they will forget any time soon.

My Brussels Griffon quickly figured out that the collar wouldn't kill her, no matter how much she barked, so she just ignored it. Yeah, it probably hurt, but not enough to stop her from fulfilling her "duties" (i.e. being the world's best watchdog!)

We live in a transitional neighborhood, and it gives me a little comfort to realize that most of the children and teenagers around won't mess with Doggy - she has a bad reputation - or try breaking in when we're not home. She's only barking, but she doesn't suffer fools gladly or tolerate any strangers at all. No one wants to test her resolve...

I am a dog owner (they live inside and only go outside to do their business) we live in the sticks and there is no such thing as HOA here but we did build in a restricted subdivision. When the developer asked the lawyer to put into the instructions no outside pets (the lawyer wrote only household pets allowed). One of the homeowners who built right behind me tied up two dogs in his yard (my home is well insulated and I didn't here a thing) the neighbor beside of them threw a fit and he took the dogs to his business. Well lo and behold, guess who bought a boxer that was to live inside the home and is now outside constantly barking inside his inground fence. The daggone complainer. It irritates me to no end but I can't hear it anyway.

Now, my sister lives in the boondocks and someone bought the home beside of them about 5 yrs ago and built about 20 dog kennels for coon dogs. My sis and her dh got no peace whatsoever and they got a lawyer, called the police and turned the music up to cover the sound of the dogs. The dog owners called the police and reported them for the music. The police came and told them they would need to turn down the music but there is no law against the dogs. Recently the dog owners bought a small farm and moved. The entire neighborhood had a party! I am not kidding. So then someone comes back and tells dsis that the woman was crying the blues about how they had to move because they wanted to have a family and noone in the neighborhood liked them. Well I wonder why?

Oh Well!

Alicia

Oh, I have a bark (shock) collar for one of my dogs. I felt bad when I first put it on her, but it only took a couple of shocks for her to learn that if the collar is on, then she's not going to bark. She does sometimes protest is a low rumble, though.

Unless the house is really cheap, I would find another house. It is not worth fighting. If it is in a town though, most towns, and counties have dog nuisance ordinances. Unfortunately, it takes lots of time and diligence to prove that the dog is excessively barking. Sometimes a neighborhood alliance of several affected neighbors is effective.

Terrible that some neighbors are so inconsiderate.

I can't wait til summertime. We have been in the neighborhood for 13 years and have not had a barking dog problem until the last two years since our neighbor got a coonhound that howls, and it is putting me and the other neighbors over the edge.

There are barking dog websites out there I know I have looked at for others affected by this problem. OP: I would take a pass on the house. I feel truly sorry for those sellers.

Two weeks ago I moved into a new condo. I chose a unit on the perimeter of the development so that I'd have peace and privacy. What did I get instead? The dog from hell on the residential property nearby. I've never lived in a neighborhood where dogs were a problem; now I've got the all night long dog filibuster. IT NEVER STOPS. During the day, the dog is silent. I'm waiting for the moment I can see the dog, trace its residence, and sic Animal Control on the owners. This assumes, of course, that I do not keel over in my zombie-like sleep-deprived state. How can a dog possibly carry on for eight hours nonstop? How can humans be so bloody inconsiderate?

Laurie that reminds me of a funny story -- when we lived next to the barking dog, we came home one day to find a note on the front door asking us to please keep our dog quiet at night. Only problem is we didn't have a dog. The people from the street behind us had "tracked" down the doggy noise to the wrong house.

I'd run so far from that house, regardless of its pluses. Been there, done that. Never again. You're lucky to have heard it PRIOR to buying.

Phone calls at 3AM do work

berniek,
I do believe that we are perfectly in agreement for once!

OP, I love dogs to death, but would go absolutely nuts with a barking dog next door. Don't do it!

Jaynees, that is one good-looking dog!

I may call the Humane Society as well as Animal Control. A dog left outside for long hours in foul weather is covered under animal cruelty statutes.

I would send the owners an anonymous letter telling them that the barking is annoying, and if they didn't take care of it asap, the proper authorities would be notified...

I recently solved a problem with a guy and his barking dog that would wake me up at 5:00 am EVERY morning for a few weeks.

One night my wife and I came home from work and I noticed he was moving around in his kitchen. I walked up to his back door and knocked on it. He about crapped his pants and then walked over. In a calm voice, this part was not easy due to the amount of sleep and frustration I delt with for so long, and politly explained that his dog kept waking me and my wife up at 5:00 am every morning. He appologized and said he would make it stop.

Well it has been two weeks and no more barking dog! He still owns the dog, but he now waits by the door while it makes its deposits in the yard. My condo is up for sale now, but I plan on going back over there to thank him.

I would try the option of approching the person first. I know I got lucky but you never know.

Another solution I thought about while I was in bed awake at 5:00 am, before I had my talk with him, was to find his phone number and call him every morning at 3:00 am. :-)

We moved a year ago to here at our farm and am so happy with the silence. We got used to the traffic noises, trains and planes in the Chicago suburb but never EVER got used to the dogs on both sides of us and across the street.

We begged the owners to take care of the problem if not with a collar, then a simple spray bottle of water. Still they left those dogs outdoors from 5:00 am to 10:00 p.m. On weekends the barking often went on to the wee hours of the morning. When we put our house on the market, we told them all that their dogs would definitely de-value their own properties if we had to sell at a loss.

It was amazing how they took their dogs inside when they saw a car in front of our house. Sorry to the new buyers though!

One of the neighbors at my first house had a German shepherd that always barked the first few times someone came near his yard, but after the dog got to know the person (e.g., the mailman), he would not bark.

But then another neighbor got a different type of dog (a Sheltie, I think? the kind that looks like Lassie) that was really, really stupid. That thing barked at anything. If my cat sat in the window inside the house, the dog would bark at it. My husband and I both went over and talked to the owner a number of times, but he apparently couldn't do much about it.

Perhaps the OP could ask some of the neighbors if the dog barks all the time or only when strangers are around. The latter is actually rather a desirable trait.

My folks had dalamations next door that were really funny--they'd bark at you if you went out the back door (the dogs were in the fenced in backyard next to them), and they'd bark and bark and bark UNTIL you spoke to them.

Once you said, "hi, guys!" they shut up, and sat down, and grinned at you through the fence.

But you HAD to say hello. It upset them if you didn't greet them back.

Even delivery people, etc.--if they spoke to the dogs, the dogs stopped barking.

But my folks thought it was funny, and friendly, and they liked the alert that someone was coming to the front door of their house or the place next door.

we told them all that their dogs would definitely de-value their own properties if we had to sell at a loss.

That's funny! (I'm w/ you, sorry to the new owners--though surely they got a sense that there was a dog?)

We simply kept a hose by the fence and said QUIET and if they kept barking immediately it them with the hose (the water, silly). We praised them when they stopped. They caught on after a day or two and the barking stopped, even when we weren't out in the yard. I told the owners that I was going to train the dog not to bark but didn't tell them how. They were very grateful. Lovely dog then.

We have had good results with the water treatment with our dogs also. When they would bark, we would spray them with a water bottle or throw a glass of water at them and firmly say QUIET. We read about this in a dog training book and it works well. We have told a number of people about this and they have told us it worked for them also. We also used it for a neighbor dog.